The topic for this posting isn’t fun, but it’s something we all must come to grips with sooner or later: death.
A year before he died, Benjamin Franklin wrote “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death & taxes.”
According to Benjamin Franklin, there are only 2 things in this life that are certain. And according to the Bible there are only two possible destinations for us when we die: eternity with God in Heaven, or eternity separated from Him paying for our sins in Hell.
On one of the walls inside a rescue mission in Baltimore, MD the words of John 3:16 are written out in such a way as to spell out the word “GOSPEL”. It looks something like this: For
G od so loved the world that he gave His
O nly begotten
S on that whosoever believeth on Him shall not
P erish but have
E verlasting
L ife
This verse summarizes the entire Gospel message and I like how the rescuse mission cleverly wrote it out so that it lierally spelled out the word GOSPEL. The rest of this posting will focus on the P word – Perish
There are many people all over the world who think that this life is all there is – we live for a short time and then it’s over.
We can all easily relate to physical death – sooner or later, it’s going to come to every one of us. However, Scripture emphasizes another kind of death that’s a million times more terrible than physical death.
The Bible tells us in Rom 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” The death that God has in view isn’t merely a physical death…it’s a spiritual death. God created man good and after His own image; therefore, we’re accountable to Him for our actions. God declares that the punishment for sin is to be forever separated from Him in a place called Hell.
In the Bible, “perish” doesn’t mean we simply cease to exist. It means to come under constant torment forever separated from God because of our sins.
Many people will say they believe in Hell…but most of them don’t think they’re going to go there. They compare themselves to others and think, “Look at him. He’s far worse than me. I’m not so bad.”
But we’re all sinful. God tells us the truth about ourselves when His Word declares “There is none righteous, no not one” Don’t let anyone tell you for a minute that when you die, all your troubles will go away. Being sinful creatures, we’d like to believe that fairy tale. But God is honest with us in His Word about our predicament – God’s Word tells us “The wages of sin is death”
God paints us an ugly picture about this type of spiritual death – weeping and gnashing of teeth; unending agony; the bottomless pit; a place of unquenchable fire…and that only scratches the surface of what it means to PERISH according to the Scriptures.
But we can praise Him that the story for us doesn’t end there. There is a blessed HOPE for us. God also gives us the good news about His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ – the world’s only Saviour.
Jesus is almighty God — He created the world and He’s sustaining it at this very moment. Because of His great love for His children, He emptied Himself of His glory, took on a human form. He lived a sinless life – the only figure in all of human history to do so. He suffered, was crucified dead and buried. The third day He rose from the dead — and He’s alive right now!
Christ paid the penalty for the sins of His people and He’s prepared a place for them in Heaven.
Last year when pope John Paul II died there were countless numbers of people pointing out all the good things he did as pope and how he’s living and reigning with Christ right now. But whether you’re a blogger from Maryland or the pope in Rome the truth is there’s only one path to the Father.
Let me ask every reader this question: who must we place our trust in for eternal life? I hope you answered Jesus Christ, because that’s what the Bible says in Acts 4:12.
Acts 4:12 — Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
With this answer in mind, read John Paul II’s own words from his hand-written will: “I do not know when death will come, but, like all else, this moment too I place into the hands of the Mother of My Master: Completely Yours…Then I too can take this into consideration continuously, entrusting that decisive moment (meaning his death) to the Mother of Christ and of the Church – to the Mother of my hope…In life and in death Completely Yours through the Immaculate Mary.”
This man’s hope for eternal life — in his own words – did not rest in the LORD Jesus Christ alone. Instead, a good portion of his trust was placed in someone else. He might as well have been trusting in Benjamin Franklin, George Washington…or in you & I.
The key that unlocks Heaven’s door is saving faith – and God is the One who gives us this key…it’s His gift. You ask, “what is saving faith?” It’s having the grace from God to trust in Christ alone for eternal life — not putting our trust in our good works and what we can do; not putting our trust in a church, a pastor or a pope – in what they can do for us. All of our trust must be placed completely on Christ and on what He has already accomplished. That’s God’s gift of saving faith
If we die without trusting solely in Christ for eternal life, then it’s absolutely guaranteed that we will perish.
John 3:16 is a wonderful summary of the greatest story ever told about the greatest Person who’s ever lived, Jesus Christ. That story is called the Gospel — the GOOD NEWS.
The question some readers may be facing right now is this: Am I ready to respond to Christ’s call to follow Him only and to trust completely in Him – not in anyone or anything else?
How each of us responds to Christ’s command determines where we will spend eternity.
To God Be The Glory!
Posted by Jeff & Cindy 
